Operations Strategy
OPERATIONS STRATEGY
PRODUCTIVITY, COMPETITIVENESS, STRATEGY
Productivity is about how effective an organization is in the use of its resources.
Competitiveness is how effective an organization is in the marketplace compared with other organizations that offer similar products/services.
Strategy shapes the plans that determine the direction an organization takes in pursuing its goals.
(US companies, suffering from impressive success of foreign companies on the US marketplace place increased emphasis on operations strategy).
OPERATIONS STRATEGY is related to products, processes, methods, operating resources, quality, costs, lead times, and scheduling.
At three levels (strategic, tactical, and operational) the operations are related to: strategic: product design, choice of location, choice of technology, new facilities; tactical: employment levels, output levels, equipment selection, facility layout; operational: scheduling personnel, adjusting output rates, inventory management, purchasing.
Key to successful formulation and implementation of OS is synergetic work together rather than competing internally.
NEW STRATEGIES:
Traditional strategies tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation. These are abandoned in favor of quality and time strategies.
Quality-based strategies: focus on satisfying the customer by integrating quality into all phases of the organization. (This includes the product itself, plus process: i.e. design, production, after-sale service). (We will review these strategies in detail later).
Time-based strategies: focus on reducing the time required to accomplish various activities (e.g., develop new products or services and market them, respond to a change in customer demand, or deliver a product or perform a service). By doing so, organizations seek to improve service to the customer and to gain a competitive advantage over rivals (who take more time to accomplish the same tasks).
PRODUCTIVITY, COMPETITIVENESS, STRATEGY
Productivity is about how effective an organization is in the use of its resources.
Competitiveness is how effective an organization is in the marketplace compared with other organizations that offer similar products/services.
Strategy shapes the plans that determine the direction an organization takes in pursuing its goals.
(US companies, suffering from impressive success of foreign companies on the US marketplace place increased emphasis on operations strategy).
OPERATIONS STRATEGY is related to products, processes, methods, operating resources, quality, costs, lead times, and scheduling.
At three levels (strategic, tactical, and operational) the operations are related to: strategic: product design, choice of location, choice of technology, new facilities; tactical: employment levels, output levels, equipment selection, facility layout; operational: scheduling personnel, adjusting output rates, inventory management, purchasing.
Key to successful formulation and implementation of OS is synergetic work together rather than competing internally.
NEW STRATEGIES:
Traditional strategies tended to emphasize cost minimization or product differentiation. These are abandoned in favor of quality and time strategies.
Quality-based strategies: focus on satisfying the customer by integrating quality into all phases of the organization. (This includes the product itself, plus process: i.e. design, production, after-sale service). (We will review these strategies in detail later).
Time-based strategies: focus on reducing the time required to accomplish various activities (e.g., develop new products or services and market them, respond to a change in customer demand, or deliver a product or perform a service). By doing so, organizations seek to improve service to the customer and to gain a competitive advantage over rivals (who take more time to accomplish the same tasks).